


The Swan Prince

by MarvelousMenagerie (HiddenOne)



Series: 2018 Stony Fairy Tale Bingo [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Cursed!Steve, Fairy Tale Bingo, Fairy Tale Elements, Knight Rhodey, M/M, Prince Steve, Prince Tony - Freeform, Swans, so many swans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 22:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13936389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenOne/pseuds/MarvelousMenagerie
Summary: Tony was only looking to have a small swim. He didn’t anticipate being surrounded by a bevy of swans, or that his protector would be another, much larger swan who brings Tony gifts of fish.But what swan has blue eyes?





	The Swan Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 2018 Stony Fairy Tale Bingo square 'Swan Maiden.' Also contains elements of the Swan Princess movie, but I thought there was enough of the Swan Maiden idea for it to still count!

 

“What is that?” Tony asks, but he doesn’t wait for an answer. He nudges his horse through the thick grove of trees, jumps over a fallen log, and wades slowly through the grass until he comes up along a wall. “This is new,” he comments.

“I would’ve said that it’s very, very old,” Rhodey says from behind him. 

The wall is starting to crumble in places, the stacked rocks falling out of their place. Weeds and moss have taken over, growing into and becoming the mortar that had originally been in between the crevices.  A barrier only to those who lack curiosity, Tony thinks.

“New to us,” Tony corrects as he dismounts from his horse to approach the wall on foot. “That makes it exciting.”

“Yes, that  _ is  _ why I planned to take the hunting party in this direction. So you’d be less bored,” Rhodey sighs. 

Tony smiles. The new route did not, of course, stop Tony from abandoning the hunting party at his earliest convenience. He couldn’t lose Rhodey, not that Tony would want to even if he had the skill, but the rest of them Tony could abandon in the woods without a second thought. He’s sure Happy would see the rest of them safely back home, so what was the harm?

“That was a great idea,” Tony praises as he starts climbing the wall. “Look how not bored I am!” 

Rhodey sighs and dismounts. “Tony…”

“Rho-dey,” Tony returns in a sing-song chant.

Rhodey climbs up beside him, picking a different route since so many hand and foot holds were available. Even with Tony’s head start, Rhodey catches up and they breach the top of the wall together.

“A lovely pond. I’m so glad we climbed this wall to see it,” Rhodey drawls.

The pond butts up against the wall, tinged a dark blue color indicating depth and then stretches out for yards. There were a few lily pads towards the far bank along with tall reeds, and the rest of the scenery in view was bushes and trees like Tony and Rhodey had just came through. Was this someone’s property that they’d closed off? But who could live here and Tony, heir to the kingdom, not know?

Tony climbs higher, his head and then chest clearing the wall as he scans the surroundings. There’s no disturbance, no owner come to ask the prince why he’s climbed their wall.

“It does look refreshing, doesn’t it?” Tony returns, taking another look down. It had been several hours of riding that day. They hadn’t traveled quickly through the woods, but the day had been humid. He could go for a swim.

“No. Absolutely not, Tony don’t you dare -” Rhodey starts, reaching for him.

Tony levers himself over the wall before Rhodey can stop him, tumbling down and then splashing into the pond. The water is cool, just as refreshing as Tony had hoped. He surfaces with a smile.

“Come on in! The water is fantastic!” he calls back up to Rhodey.

“Oh no. I’m not riding my horse all the way back home in wet clothes,” Rhodey points out.

Drat. Tony hadn’t thought that far ahead. He hides his annoyance at Rhodey’s logic behind a grin. “Not even if your prince orders you to?” he teases.

“Especially not then,” Rhodey returns as he takes a seat on the wall. His feet are high enough that Tony can’t reach up and grab them to tug him down, so he lets them dangle. “My noble prince can have a nice, refreshing swim all by himself.”

Tony splashes water up at him, speckling his clothes, but Rhodey just laughs. 

Tony does a few strokes and then floats on his back. He does regret his decision a little in that he didn’t take off his boots before throwing himself into the pond. His mother will be rather upset with him, he thinks, that he’s ruined them.

“Uh, Tony,” Rhodey says, the caution in his voice making Tony tense. “Be careful there.”

Tony turns to look as he tries not to disrupt his currently floating status. Swans, several of them, skim across the surface of the pond towards Tony. Tony lets his legs sink so as to tread water instead of float. Now he can swim away if he needs to.

“”I’m going to grab my bow,” Rhodey suggests, keeping an eye on the swans as he swings back over the other side of the wall.

“Don’t shoot them,” Tony says as he backs away towards the wall. “I’ll just - ack!”

One of the swans charges at him. Tony dives to the side, going under the surface, but when he comes back up for air he finds himself surrounded by swans. They keep a few feet from him, but there’s enough of them that create a menacing wall between Tony and the rest of the pond - and between Tony and the wall, his escape route. Tony turns in a circle while the swans circle him, and an icy shiver races down his spine that has nothing to do with the water’s temperature.

“Uh, okay. Um, I promise to feed you something that is not my body if you let me go? My royal apologies for intruding into your pond? What is it going to take, here?” Tony asks, letting his brain run free as he calculates the odds of winning a race to the top of the wall against these menacing birds. 

“Are you bargaining with them?” Rhodey asks. He’s kneeling on top of the wall now, his bow drawn. Tony has to remember to tell him later how impressed Tony is at his quickness.

“Don’t shoot!” Tony orders. He’d had more than one reason to sneak away from the hunting party, and it isn’t even like he could bring the swans back to the kitchen. The cooks would simply wrinkle their faces in disgust. “That might provoke them.”

“They’re already provoked,” Rhodey argues, but he doesn’t fire. He also doesn’t lose any tension on his bow.

The swans keep circling him. None move closer, or farther away. Tony keeps an eye on what he can see beneath him, too - just in case these birds are more intelligent than even he expects, and they’re serving as some sort of target identification for something below. This swim is not quite the short, refreshing adventure he’d anticipated when he climbed the wall…

A bugle of alarm causes Ton to turn, and then there’s a larger swan flying at him. This swan is  _ huge _ , almost twice the size of the other swans. Its wing spread could be double Tony’s own height, it’s feathers an almost brilliant white. 

Tony dives underwater. Hopefully Rhodey will be able to come up with a better story for Prince Anthony Stark’s death than ‘killed by a swan.’

Tony fights to keep himself submerged as he watches the action above. The ring of swans that had circled him scatter, the large swan landing in their wake. None of the swans come diving after Tony though, and there’s no more crazy circles elsewhere in the pond. 

The larger swan sticks his head under the surface, and Tony jerks back when it seems like the swan  _ sees _ him. But the swan does nothing, just looks, until it brings its head back above water. It turns and paddles away.

Tony surfaces again and takes a giant gulp of air in case he has to go right back down. He doesn’t, because none of the swans approach him. The larger swan is closest, but seems to be acting as a barrier between him and the rest of the swans. Tony’s route back to the wall is clear. 

“You didn’t shoot,” Tony chastises.

“You told me not to, and it wasn’t going to save you anyway. At least a hulking swan like that, your death would’ve made an epic story,” Rhodey teases. The arrow is still knocked on the bow, aimed towards the large swan. “Something weird is going on, though.”

“Agreed.” Tony slowly backstrokes to the wall, keeping his gaze on the large swan still acting as a shield against the smaller ones. 

A couple of the smaller swans bugle in alarm when Tony reaches the wall. They try to charge him, even, and Tony scrambles up but he needn’t have worried. The larger swan intercepts them, blocking their path and keeping them away from Tony. 

Tony stops, considers.

“Come on, come on. Let’s get out of here,” Rhodey urges. “I don’t actually want to tell everyone that I let you get killed by swans.”

“Something weird is going on,” Tony says, ignoring Rhodey’s tugging on his wrist. 

“Yes, and I’d love to hear all your theories about it  _ later _ . On the way home!” Rhodey tugs again, and Tony climbs up the remaining bit.

But when Rhodey tries to tug Tony back down the other side, Tony resists. He takes up a seat on the wall, facing the swans. The smaller ones are still bugling in alarm, watching him, but the large swan maintains its position, bugling back. 

“Tony, what you doing?” Rhodey hisses. He tugs at Tony again, and Tony bats him away. 

“They aren’t going to attack us up here. Not with our knight in shining feathers down there,” Tony says, nodding down to the pond. “You don’t want to figure this out?”

“Figure what out, that they attack humans that enter their pond?” Rhodey asks. He grumbles under his breath but takes a seat next to Tony again. His bow in hand, but at least the arrow is back in his quiver.

“That would imply they’re trained,” Tony points out. “I don’t know of anyone living around here that would build this wall or train swans.”

“Maybe that means you should study more.”

“I would love to study swan-training. Seems very useful… if you can survive,” Tony replies with a grin. 

“We are not bringing any of these back to the castle for you to practice on,” Rhodey orders. “No. And you’re not getting new hatchlings, either, to try to start training them.  _ No _ .”

Tony grins and winks at Rhodey, just to get Rhodey starting on another rant under his breath about ‘having to train blasted birds.’ Then Tony goes back to swan-watching. 

They’re beautiful creatures. The large swan, Tony’s protector, has almost blinding white feathers. A long, graceful neck ends in black facial markings and a long, curved beak. Beautiful, but dangerous. Swans were intentionally barred from finding a home in the ponds around the castle so that the groundskeepers could work undisturbed. Tony had only seen swans from a distance, and had been cautioned against them. 

Tony watches, and the smaller swans stop bugling and then start swimming toward the larger swan. It tries to maintain its position, but the smaller swans start poking and prodding it with beaks and wingtips and tail feathers toward the wall. 

Toward Tony?

The large swan honks, continues to honk, but it does little to resist the pushing towards the wall. 

“This is crazy,” Rhodey repeats as slowly but surely the swan is pushed until it’s underneath their feet. 

Tony tenses, ready to swing back over at the next sign of aggression. Rhodey is the same, bow in hand. 

The large swan dives underwater to the distressed bugling of the rest of them. Tony has the strange urge to laugh as he stares at the empty space where the swan used to be. Then the swan resurfaces, a fish in its beak. It raises its head, looks at Tony, and then stretches its neck toward him. 

“Is that….?” Tony starts in wonder.

“For you?” Rhodey finishes. “I think so. But is it an apology gift or a bribe to get you back in reach?”

Tony hums, considering. This swan had protected him, had let him escape. He does feel an attachment to this one, his knight in feather form. But if it's simply trying to lure him back in…

The swan pulls back, curling into itself. The gift had been rejected, Tony notes with only a touch of guilt. The rest of the swans eye him, and Tony fears there’s a touch of anger in their gaze. 

The swan swims away, pushing through the cluster of smaller swans to head towards the bank of the pond. Tony feels a pang, watching it go, but only a small one. He won’t be manipulated back into a watery, bird-induced grave.

The swan deposits its fish on the grassy banks, looks at Tony, and then swims back out into the pond. It dives underwater, come back up with another fish, that it then piles on top of the other on the bank. The rest of the swans honk and bat their wings, but then start diving as well. 

Fish after fish end up piled on the banks. There’s a few that add in some frogs, too, and Tony stares as the pile grows and grows.

“That’s new,” Rhodey whispers. 

“Better than a couple of those bride prices waiting for me back home,” Tony jokes, and Rhodey snorts in amusement. 

Tony keeps his eyes on the large swan that dives for fish after fish. Tony hasn’t seen it eat one, not like the others, who occasionally pause to gobble down their catch. The pile continues to grow.

Tony shivers with the breeze, his wet clothes not drying well in the setting sun. Accordingly, his stomach growls, signaling the length of time it’s been since he and Rhodey ate their midday meal. 

“So, what you think…?” Tony offers.

Rhodey sighs. “If you want fish for dinner, you better start cooking them now, but you aren’t going swimming to get to them.”

“No, I’d rather not,” Tony agrees. He levers himself to his feet on top of the wall, arms out for balance as he stands on the wide, smooth stones.

“What, your dip not as refreshing as you’d hoped?” Rhodey comments as he follows suit.

The swans start bugling in alarm, flapping their wings and stirring up the water at their movement. However, none of them fly at Tony or Rhodey. The large swan’s head turns with them as they walk along the wall until there’s finally muddy ground beneath them instead of water. 

Tony climbs down, hiding his nerves from being watched by several pairs of sharp, bird gazes. Rhodey follows, several arrows in hand as well as his bow. 

“I’ll start the fire, you gut the fish?” Tony suggests as they cautiously make their way to the pile of fish. 

“Oh no. You get the smelly bit and can bond with your new bird friends. I’ll find the wood and start the fire,” Rhodey counters and breaks off to head for the cluster of trees.

Rhodey stays in sight, though, and gathers branches in an awkward hold so that he can keep his bow in hand. Tony relaxes when he sees that, trusting Rhodey at his back as he approaches the pile of fish. The large swan stands in the pond, on the other side of the pile. It honks, and the smaller swans scatter. They swim back to the pond, to the other side. 

No longer a threat to Tony. 

Tony pulls a knife out of his belt and plops down next to the pile. He notes with relief that these fish don’t have rigid scales, so he won’t have to spend forever attempting to descale the fish or else picking scales out of his teeth later. He starts with beheading them.

“So, come here often?” Tony asks the swan as he picks through the pile for the bigger fish that will be more satisfying to eat. He tosses one of the frogs back to the swan, hoping it wouldn’t be too harsh of a rejection. He doesn’t think Rhodey would accept a dare to eat a frog, and Tony has no plans to eat it. 

The swan waddles forward and then leans down to gently take the frog in its mouth. It gulps, and the frog is gone. Tony tosses a few more its way as he steadily sorts and beheads fish, then starts slicing open their stomachs to remove the organs. He offers a few entrails to the swan, who turns its head away. Tony throws them into the reeds for whatever creature finds them instead. 

“How’s your bonding going?” Rhodey asks as he comes back with branches and starts building a fire. 

“I didn’t even notice you were gone. He’s replaced you entirely,” Tony comments, flicking guts off his knife at Rhodey.

“Rude,” Rhodey deins with a frown as he dodges. 

The swan settles, keeping its gaze on Tony as he continues to clean the fish. 

“You ever seen a swan with blue eyes before?” Tony asks.

Rhodey takes his attention off the fire to stare at Tony, then the swan. “No… that’s odd.” Rhodey twitches, his hand going back to his bow.

“Don’t be rude, sourpatch. We can at least stay for dinner,” Tony says. He keeps his gaze on the swan, though, and he notes how the swan looks away. It can understand him.

This isn’t a normal swan. Not that Tony couldn’t have guessed that from the ordeal at the pond, but a swan with blue eyes and understanding human speech? 

Tony keeps a close eye on the woods, too. He doesn’t like how fast night seems to be falling, how cool the air blows through. 

He feels better once Rhodey gets the fire going. His clothes are still damp, and the warmth makes Tony feel more confident in his ability to handle whatever comes next with an overly intelligent swan. His boots still squish with every step as he lays out the clean pieces of fish on a rock next to the fire, and he knows that his mother is going to be extremely displeased when he comes home.

It doesn’t make him eager to return.

The sun starts to set, the stars coming out. Rhodey’s fire is built high, crackling and spitting, and Tony sits back and relaxes - removing those damn boots to put his toes right by the fire - as the fish cooks. 

“See? Wasn’t that a fun adventure?” Tony asks, nudging his shoulder against Rhodey’s.

“It’s not over yet,” Rhodey says softly, his gaze on the swan that sits just beyond the fire. It hasn’t approached them, but neither has it retreated. Tony stares, but the blue eyes have faded in the darkness and all Tony can see is the glimmer of reflection from the firelight in its eyes. 

Tony grabs one of the pieces of fish to check if it’s finished. The flesh flakes off, steaming hot, and Tony tosses it to Rhodey. “Feast of a king!”

“Did any of the other swans have blue eyes?” Rhodey asks as he accepts.

“Not that I noticed, though they haven’t gotten as close as this one,” Tony replies as he digs into his own fillet. He’s careful of the rib bones - he hates choking on them, and there’s always one more even with the best cooks in the kingdom preparing the meal - and tries to simply let the flesh melt in his mouth rather than actually chew. It’s not his most graceful table manners, and Rhodey teases him as they steadily make their way through the fish. There’s still a few left when they call themselves full.

Tony takes one and offers it to the swan. “Or do you only eat it raw?” 

The swan turns his head and doesn’t take it. Tony sets it back down, frowning. 

“Tony… we need to be getting back,” Rhodey starts. That gets the swan’s attention, it’s head perking up.

Tony canvases the area, but there’s nothing else, human or otherwise, that the swan could signal. At least that he sees. 

Rhodey gets to his feet, bow in hand. “Tony,” he says, now serious.

Rhodey is Tony’s friend, his best friend, but Rhodey is also in charge of Tony’s safety. This voice is one that Rhodey picked up during his training as a knight. This is Rhodey the knight trying to protect the prince, rather than just his friend Tony. 

Still, Tony sits. 

“How much longer?” Tony asks, staring at the swan. 

The swan honks, soft. Tony keeps an eye out, but it doesn’t seem to be a signal to anyone else rather than to Tony. Then the swan waddles back, out onto the lake.

Rhodey asks, “How much longer?”

Tony stares out at the swan on the lake, waiting, waiting, even as Rhodey douses the fire and strews the ashes. The fish are left in a pile, for the swans or whatever else would like to eat them, and then Rhodey is at Tony’s shoulder, hand on Tony’s arm.

Still, Tony waits. Those blue eyes… what swan has blue eyes?

Rhodey tugs, and Tony finally Tony turns. “Okay,” Tony sighs.

“No,  _ look _ ,” Rhodey says, gesturing out at the lake.

The swan glows, the moonlight now strong enough to cast a reflection on the pond and illuminate the swan. Then Tony blinks, realizing that the swan  _ glows _ , brighter and brighter, like nothing else Tony has ever seen. Eventually Tony has to look away, shielding his eyes from the brightness.

When the light fades, Tony turns back to see a man standing in the circle of moonlight. The man is wrapped in a white cloak, reflecting back the light of the moon. 

“I did not see that coming,” Rhodey admits, staring.

Tony blinks. 

The man walks towards them. His skin is pale, his hair is blond. Tony can’t tell from this distance, but we would be willing to bet that the man’s eyes are blue. 

“Uh, hello,” Tony greets with a wave.

“Hello,” the man returns, his voice scratchy and rough. He coughs. “Thank you for staying,” he forces out. He scoops some of the water from the lake into his mouth and swallows. “My apologies. I don’t talk much in this form.”

The man walks closer, and Rhodey steps in front of Tony. “Who are you?” Rhodey challenges.

“I am Prince Steven of Brooklyn. I was cursed by a wicked wizard to remain here with that swan form.”

Rhodey tenses, and Tony frowns. 

“Brooklyn?” Tony questions. “Your mind didn’t get addled with that curse?”

“I am Steven of Brooklyn. That I would not forget,” Steven confirms.

Rhodey turns and tilts his head in question, and Tony shrugs. The swan-turned-man was convincing, regardless of what he was saying. Tony isn’t sure that withholding information was going to be of any benefit.

Steven begins to look worried. “Am I so far from home?”

Rhodey shakes his head, and Tony sighs. “Of a kind. There is no Brooklyn kingdom anymore,” he explains. “It was made a part of Manhattan many, many years ago - before I was born.”

“No,” Steve gasps, and he falls to his knees on the muddy bank. “It can’t... it can’t have been that long! Is there - my parents? Bucky? Peggy? Who is  _ left _ ?”

“Your parents never lost hope, never stopped searching,” Tony makes up. Rhodey gives him a quick look, but doesn’t give away the lie. Tony can’t be sure, of course. He wasn’t alive at the time, but what else could he tell the man? He does know his history though, so he tells the truth next, “Brooklyn was peacefully negotiated into Manhattan, with the ruling family given noble titles and lands. We can search the census for where your family has gone.”

“But the ones I’d know, they’d be dead,” Steves states.

Tony doesn’t contradict him. 

“How does this curse of yours work?” Rhodey asks. He edges further in front of Tony, his hands easing his bow up.

Steve doesn’t answer. His face is down, his chest heaving in large gulps of air. Tony feels for him, but he follows Rhodey’s hand signals to prepare to run. 

“It, uh, the wizard Schmidt,” Steven forces out, voice strained. “He’s the one who cursed me. I’m stuck here, behind these walls, as long as I wear this cloak. The feathers turn me into a swan during the day, and at night I revert back to a man.”

The cloak is made of brilliant white feathers that catch Tony’s eye. He looks away, in case enchantment is part of it. He stares at the ground, letting Rhodey’s hand stay in his peripheral vision so he can be ready for Rhodey’s next cue. 

“How do you remove the cloak?” Rhodey asks, and he taps out a countdown for Tony to run to the wall.

“I can’t,” Steven admits, almost listless. “Only someone of royal blood - that’s not me - can remove the cloak.”

Tony tries to step forward, but Rhodey holds him back. “And they’ll be cursed in turn?” Rhodey accuses.

“No!” Steven denies.

“But you don’t know that. You’ve never had someone remove your cloak,” Rhodey points out.

“Rhodey…” Tony starts.

“You’re the first ones who have stayed past sunset,” Steven admits. He sighs, stands, and then stumbles back into the water. “Maybe it’s best that I remain cursed. I - I don’t know anyone.”

Tony shoulders his way past Rhodey. “You know us,” he stresses. “And I can’t let a fellow prince remain trapped in a small pond, bygone kingdom or no. We could at least get you to a nicer lake or something, if you really want to stay a swan.”

Steve looks at him, and Tony is close enough to see those blue eyes now filled with pain. “I can’t leave the boundary with the cloak on.”

“Then I take it off of you.” 

Rhodey tugs Tony back. “If we do this, than we start with me. I may not have royal blood, but I know enough not to trust an evil wizard when he starts spouting rules.”

“Rhodey, you can’t -” Tony protests.

“Oh no.  _ You _ can’t,” Rhodey says, and then he steps forward into the water and grabs Steven’s cloak of feathers. Nothing happens when he touches it, and despite figuring out how the feathers interlocked to create a garment, Rhodey couldn’t untwist them to remove the cloak. He can’t rip the feathers nor pull them out. 

“Well at least we know you aren’t a bastard son of my father or something,” Tony drawls. 

Rhodey rolls his eyes. 

Tony steps up, but Rhodey doesn’t back away. 

“Tones, if you get cursed…”

“Then I’ll remove the cloak again, right away,” Steven promises. 

Tony nods, but Rhodey hesitates. “We don’t know that will work, if Brooklyn is no longer its own kingdom…”

“I am still of royal descent,” Steven snaps. 

Tony doesn’t bother to argue and simply steps forward to touch the feathers. The cloak is held together by feathers and bone, twisted and interlocked into a garment. Tony twists, loosens, frees, and slowly but surely the cloak opens and falls from Steven’s shoulders. 

Rhodey tenses, but the cloak doesn’t cling to Tony. It falls to the water and then breaks apart, the feathers and bones drifting away on the surface. 

Steven is naked underneath. 

“Wow. No wonder you had to cover that up,” Tony comments. 

Steven blushes and Tony watches as the flush spreads up from his chest to his neck and turns his whole face red. Then Tony goes back to those abs, with clear cut definition. Was Steven like that before the curse, or did the swan anatomy and movements have something to do with that?

Rhodey elbows him. “Stop drooling,” he hisses. “Be noble. Offer him your shirt.”

“It definitely wouldn’t fit those shoulders,” Tony answers absently. Then he gets ahold of himself - after giving himself one last, long look at those biceps - and snaps his attention back to Steven’s face. “We should have a spare cloak or blanket with the horses, to preserve your modesty.”

“Think you took all of it already,” Steven grumbles.

Tony looks down at the feathers and bone floating in the water. The cloak had broken up, no longer held together by the magic that had created it. “Well, since your chance at remaining a swan by day seems unlikely, I would like to formally invite to come back with us.”

“And you are...?”

Tony offers Steven a small smile. “I’m Prince Anthony of Manhattan. But please, call me Tony.”

Steven’s blue gaze snaps to Tony’s. “Manhattan.”

“This is Sir James Rhodes, or Rhodey as I invite you to call him,” Tony introduces.

“From Manhattan,” Steven repeats.

“Others can corroborate the peaceful negotiations with Brooklyn. I will help you search for your family, to find out what happened to them,” Tony promises. His father won’t be pleased to find out there’s a remaining descendant from Brooklyn with royal blood, but Tony certainly isn’t going to assassinate the man. “Please, consider my home yours, for as long as you want it.”

Rhodey raises an eyebrow at Tony, but Tony shrugs it off. There was something about Steven. He’d heard tales of the lost prince of Brooklyn, sure, but Tony had written them off as nothing but drunken tales and wishful thinking of a long-gone time. But now, with Steven in front of him… even as a swan, Steven had caught Tony’s attention. How ridiculous is that?

In takes no more convincing for Steven to come with them. He does spend several moments saying goodbye to his fellow swans - who apparently had had every intention of trapping Tony in the pond until nightfall, prince or not, to help Steven - but then they climb over the wall to find their horses waiting for them. 

Rhodey finds a spare cloak and hands it over to Steven. 

“This one isn’t cursed, promise,” Tony tries to joke. 

Steven offers up a weak smile in response. He turns back and looks at the wall. “It’s not that much different on this side,” he comments. 

“I’m sure I can find some new delights back at the castle to tempt you with,” Tony says. “You’ll be the talk of the town. I can’t imagine the hunting party found anything nearly as interesting as you.”

Rhodey snorts, amused, as he shifts some of his pack over to Tony’s horse to make for Steven. Steven would ride behind Rhodey, because Rhodey wouldn’t trust Steven on his own with a horse yet. And Rhodey certainly wouldn’t let a stranger, prince or not, ride with Tony and give them an opportunity to put Tony in danger.

“Hunting party?” Steven questions.

Tony grins. “For my marriage contract. I was supposed to hunt down a sizeable prize to impress my potential intendeds. I might have deviated a bit from tradition, but I would argue you’re a much more impressive specimen than any deer or hare I could possibly have found.” 

Steven blushes again, and Tony finds himself enjoying it immensely.

“You aren’t handing me over to your intended, are you?” Steven questions, though he mounts the horse behind Rhodey without hesitation. 

“No, I won’t be doing that,” Tony replies. He ducks his head to hide his grin. Reviewing those contract negotiations with Brooklyn is now at the top of his priority list. Steven’s appearance, once confirmed, would set that part of the Manhattan kingdom into an uproar. That is, unless Tony could arrange a contract negotiation of his own. Keeping the area that used to be Brooklyn at peace by way of marriage into the current royal family… Tony flicks his glance over to Steven, who had been looking at Tony. Steven holds his gaze for another moment, eyes searching, and then turns away again, chin up.

Well, that is certainly an idea. 


End file.
